Pledging a Greek Letter Organization was one of the best decisions I ever made. Some may ask me why? What is "so special" about becoming a member of one of the Divine Nine? Well first off, although I am a member of the Divine Nine, I must also note (as I have done before) that I am a member of other Greek Letter Organizations. Several of them mind you. So here are a few reasons why I enjoy being a member.
1. The bond that I have between my line sisters. When I first met my line sisters I didn't know them. NONE of them. We were all strangers put together, with different backgrounds, majoring in various subjects in college, but we all had one common goal. To become members of the same sorority. It was scary at first. Well at least for me it was scary. I am also VERY cautious of who I allow in my personal space. I didn't know these women from Eve, yet I knew that was about to change. I realized after being chosen that I had to let my guard down for me to get to know these women. We grew to not only know each other but respect and LOVE each other. It was beautiful. The experience that I had with these women, I would NEVER trade for anything else. They had my back, they dried my tears, held me down, encouraged me, and they were, and still are my support system.
2. The bond that I had with other Greeks. When you become a member of an organization, it's more than just the "Three" Letter across your chest. You now have this AMAZING Divine 9 community to bond with. The love you are shown from the Greek community is fantastic! We support each other including going to each other events, participating in community service projects together, going on road trips as well as bonding together.
3. Becoming a member allowed me to have Leadership opportunities. I have held various offices with my sorority including President, Vice President, Chaplain, Recording Secretary, Corresponding Secretary, and Chapter Photographer. It was a joy working with other members in the chapter. These qualities have helped me after college, in my career, and different facets of my life.
4. Shopping! Okay, so this is like a shallow answer, but hey, I can't talk about being a member of a BGLO and not talk about Paraphernalia! As a young girl, there was this cute little Store in Evergreen Plaza (Chicago, on 95th and Western) and my mom would shop at one of her favorite stores called "Montgomery Ward." Right across from Montgomery Ward there was a these cute Black Store that sold Greek Items. While my mom would shop in MW, I ask her if I could go across the aisle to the store. They had the CUTEST things in there — elephants, Plaques, Shirts, Jewelry, Books, Artwork, etc. When I FINALLY crossed, my oldest sister bought me an elephant from that store. The reason why I TREASURE that elephant so much is for two reasons. ONE because my sister purchased it for me, and two that store no longer exist (Evergreen also doesn't exist anymore), and it brings back so many memories of when I would go to the store and daydream about purchasing items from there. Since crossing, I have bought SO much Pari it's ridiculous. LOL! But truth be told all of my treasures have a story behind them, and each story is precious and unique. The story ranges from my first elephant, my first jewelry, my first shirt, etc.
5. Connections! When I first moved to Arizona for school reasons I first became a member at large. This meant that I was no longer affiliated with a chapter, but I am financial with the National Chapter. After a year I found a chapter and transferred my membership from being a Membership at Large to a member of my local chapter. While I was in the last semester of my graduate degree, another local chapter of my sorority invited me to sing at our Joint Founders Day event. I performed, and a few weeks later a soror from the chapter contacted me to see if I taught music. I thought she was asking because she wanted to know if she wanted me to go to a job fair with her. It turns out, she was a brand new principal with a brand new school opening up in the Valley and wanted me to apply. Nevertheless, I applied, interview and was given the job. She was a fantastic boss. The only thing we had in common before she hired me was we were sorority sisters. After hearing me sing she contacted me to see if I also taught music. After working for her for a year, we grew very close to the point of traveling to South Korea with each other for a Sorority International Sisterhood event together.
That's all I will list for now. Watch out for Part II!
Ciao for now!
1. The bond that I have between my line sisters. When I first met my line sisters I didn't know them. NONE of them. We were all strangers put together, with different backgrounds, majoring in various subjects in college, but we all had one common goal. To become members of the same sorority. It was scary at first. Well at least for me it was scary. I am also VERY cautious of who I allow in my personal space. I didn't know these women from Eve, yet I knew that was about to change. I realized after being chosen that I had to let my guard down for me to get to know these women. We grew to not only know each other but respect and LOVE each other. It was beautiful. The experience that I had with these women, I would NEVER trade for anything else. They had my back, they dried my tears, held me down, encouraged me, and they were, and still are my support system.
2. The bond that I had with other Greeks. When you become a member of an organization, it's more than just the "Three" Letter across your chest. You now have this AMAZING Divine 9 community to bond with. The love you are shown from the Greek community is fantastic! We support each other including going to each other events, participating in community service projects together, going on road trips as well as bonding together.
3. Becoming a member allowed me to have Leadership opportunities. I have held various offices with my sorority including President, Vice President, Chaplain, Recording Secretary, Corresponding Secretary, and Chapter Photographer. It was a joy working with other members in the chapter. These qualities have helped me after college, in my career, and different facets of my life.
4. Shopping! Okay, so this is like a shallow answer, but hey, I can't talk about being a member of a BGLO and not talk about Paraphernalia! As a young girl, there was this cute little Store in Evergreen Plaza (Chicago, on 95th and Western) and my mom would shop at one of her favorite stores called "Montgomery Ward." Right across from Montgomery Ward there was a these cute Black Store that sold Greek Items. While my mom would shop in MW, I ask her if I could go across the aisle to the store. They had the CUTEST things in there — elephants, Plaques, Shirts, Jewelry, Books, Artwork, etc. When I FINALLY crossed, my oldest sister bought me an elephant from that store. The reason why I TREASURE that elephant so much is for two reasons. ONE because my sister purchased it for me, and two that store no longer exist (Evergreen also doesn't exist anymore), and it brings back so many memories of when I would go to the store and daydream about purchasing items from there. Since crossing, I have bought SO much Pari it's ridiculous. LOL! But truth be told all of my treasures have a story behind them, and each story is precious and unique. The story ranges from my first elephant, my first jewelry, my first shirt, etc.
5. Connections! When I first moved to Arizona for school reasons I first became a member at large. This meant that I was no longer affiliated with a chapter, but I am financial with the National Chapter. After a year I found a chapter and transferred my membership from being a Membership at Large to a member of my local chapter. While I was in the last semester of my graduate degree, another local chapter of my sorority invited me to sing at our Joint Founders Day event. I performed, and a few weeks later a soror from the chapter contacted me to see if I taught music. I thought she was asking because she wanted to know if she wanted me to go to a job fair with her. It turns out, she was a brand new principal with a brand new school opening up in the Valley and wanted me to apply. Nevertheless, I applied, interview and was given the job. She was a fantastic boss. The only thing we had in common before she hired me was we were sorority sisters. After hearing me sing she contacted me to see if I also taught music. After working for her for a year, we grew very close to the point of traveling to South Korea with each other for a Sorority International Sisterhood event together.
That's all I will list for now. Watch out for Part II!
Ciao for now!
V
